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Cognition 9 - 12 m
The Boundless Curiosity of Your Developing Baby
Hold on and join the ride - your baby has become a veritable "scientist." Every day brings on a new experiment as she “researches" her world to better understand her surroundings. In the laboratory of life, your baby is constantly testing new theories, gathering and processing new data and analyzing the results.
Drawing Conclusions
When your baby drops a rattle on the floor she is not making mischief, but actually trying to answer various questions, such as will this make noise? As your baby becomes wiser and wiser, she plans her path and solves more complex problems along the way. For example, she understands that if she pulls the tablecloth she can bring an object on it closer. She recalls this from past experience and reaches a logical conclusion from it.
Advanced Imitation
At this stage, your baby is quite adept at imitating behavior, and is now able to mimic more complex movements that were previously not in her repertoire. She "cleans up" her high chair with a sponge—just like her mom, claps along with her dad and even may imitate the sounds you make. Eventually these acts become her very own, and she will no longer be dependent on someone to imitate.
- Learns to solve more complex problems.
- Understanding of causal relationships becomes keener.
- Begins to understand concepts, i.e. all four-legged animals that bark are dogs.
- Can now imitate more complex movements.
- Utters first words.
- Simplify tasks by dividing them into smaller tasks, or revising them. For example, when playing with stacking toys, try giving your baby just the largest and smallest cup.
- Be aware of the importance of your baby's need to explore his world, and give him ample opportunity to do so. Be patient and try to accept his need to spread food all over the high chair, splash in the tub and crumble up things. All of these are expressions of his natural curiosity.
- Remember, the "right" answers aren't the only answers. When your baby solves a problem in a different way, he is being original, creative and relying on his own resources. Try to find creative solutions together.
Understanding and Sense of Control
